An Alaskan Surprise!

I put the kids to bed last night, cleaned downstairs, had a little WWW time, and then started getting sleepy myself so I headed off to bed. I decided to check some old DVR recordings before conking out and was in the middle of a show when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned to my bedroom door where I saw a shadow. The shadow leaned forward and all of a sudden I saw him. A MAN WAS IN MY HOUSE!! AHHHH! Then I recognized the man, it was my husband! Jim wasn't supposed to be home until Saturday, but he surprised us all by flying home a few days early. GOOD SURPRISE!!! I was SO happy to see him after almost a month!

I couldn't wait for morning to see the kids' reaction to their daddy being home. Hunter woke up and started snuggling him and wouldn't let go. Everytime Jim tried to set him down, Hunter clung onto his daddy. Tralee came wondering into our room early this morning and climbed up on the bed. Then she realized that Daddy was in our bed and she got the cutest smile on her face. She kept turning to look at him just to make sure he was still there. Talk about a heart melter.

Now we just have to get ready for Disney World in a few days! WAHOO!! Can't wait.

Lastly, here are a few videos from some of Jim's Alaskan Adventures:

This was right before the sled dogs started pulling Jim. They were all excited to get going:

Here's Jim getting pulled on an ATV by the sled dogs.

Jim and some moose.

Real Princesses Don't Like Peas

Once upon a time there was a princess.

This princess wasn't aware of her royalness, but she was completely aware of the fact that she DID NOT like peas very much. Her mother, meaning well and trying to make sure her daughter ate a well rounded diet, tried to shovel copious amounts of peas down the princess's imperial throat. The princess and her throat, still unaware of their royalty, thwarted her mother's attempts by doing something not-so-princess-like. She and her throat gagged, and the peridot pellets of putridness, were regurgitated all over the dinner table. The princess was never force-fed peas again. Although on occasion, she would scrunch up her nose, and coerce one or two down, if she uncovered a pea in a salad when she was a guest at somebody's house for dinner. She didn't want to be rude, after all.

Many years went by, and this princess grew up to be a lovely young lady. As what often happens with lovely young ladies, she met and married a lovely young gentleman. They were wed in the palace of their dreams.

This princess, although still very unaware of her resplendentness, still felt very lucky and very majestic in her new wifely station. She and her husband even referred to each other as Queeny and Kingy.

After a few years of wedded bliss, our regal leading lady and her king decided to add an heir to their humble kingdom. While preparing for the arrival of their firstborn, the happy couple lovingly and carefully gathered toys, gowns, and books for their baby-to-be. One day, our fair maiden happened across a book, or rather, this book happened across our fair maiden. Book and Lady were drawn to one another, and as stories of this nature go, it was destined that this book should go home with the princess. And home with her it went.

Joined with her prince in their modest abode, Princess was anxious to read aloud the book she discovered for their baby-to-be, stating, "Let's read this book I discovered for our baby-to-be."

The tale was, The Princess and the Pea, by Lady Lauren Child. The princess in our tale was familiar with this story, as it was a favorite from her youth. However, it had been many years since she heard the story and she had never read this version. The narrative was magical and became even more so when our cardinal character read the last page in the book which affirmed:

"Peas were not served because, as everyone knows, real princesses are not especially fond of peas."

Ah-ha and alas!

Our fair maiden realized what had been true all along: she was a REAL princess. How else could you explain her disdain for peas? Even her prince, who knew of her dislike for the chartreuse circles of calamity, wondered aloud, "So that means, you must be a REAL princess!"

Though happy to discover of her princessness, our royal maiden did not change all that much. She stayed the same lovely lady that she always had been, as any real princess would. However, when she delivered her daughter, she couldn't help but wonder if she too would be of a royal nature. As it turns out, she was! As you can imagine, peas were not a favorable menu choice in their cookery.

A few years passed, three years and 10 months to be exact, since our princess birthed her beautiful royal heir into their anti-pea kingdom, when she came across a painting, or rather, a painting came across our princess. She was browsing the wondrous WWW when an image caught her eye.

Princess loved the artists and this piece of art and new it would be a gorgeous addition to her little lady's bedchamber, but it needed a little tweaking to make it the perfect addition. So the princess took it upon herself to create an inspired piece of art that would best decorate her damsel's den.

The favored factor of this artistic production was the placement of their princess credo:

"Real Princesses Don't Like Peas"

Once finished, the reproduction rested regally on the walls of the little princess's boudoir. The little lady loved her new illustration. Her mother, the princess, was as pleased as popcorn with the creation, and everyone lived happily ever after. . . and ate very few peas.

The Happy End

Jim's Day Off

For those of you who don't know, Jim's been working in Alaska for the month of October. We miss him around here, and get really excited every time the phone rings and he's on the other end. He's mostly just working, but he did get a day off last week, and decided to go on a little Alaskan tour guided by a little old man. Jim's first choice would have been to go fishing, but all the fishing charters were closed down for the season since the salmon have already done their thang. He had a good time exploring, but said it would have been PERFECT if his family could have shared the day with him. Oh well, pictures will have to do. So. . . here are a few pictures of Jim's adventures. There are videos as well, but they're not uploading to youtube for some reason. So. . . pictures now, and (maybe) videos later.

First up, scenery. There's a glacier in the pic too, if you look closely

Jim's tour included a ride from some iditarod sled dogs. He got pulled by a team of them, and he also got to hold some cute little iditarod pups! Awwww!! SO CUTE !!! The puppies aren't bad either (hehe).

Some big ol' elk

Moooooooose

Grizzly Bears below. Jim said the one pictured kept trying to eat his phone. He was RIGHT next to them. If the kids and I were there, we would have been AT LEAST 10 feet away. Not Jim, he got all up in their grizz. Get it? Grizz, instead of grills? I'm so dang funny.

I'm glad Jim got to have a day of fun, but I CAN NOT WAIT for him to come home already!!

Puff! A Bowl of Bowsies

She's too cute:

Right Now

Right now I'm sitting here typing away while simultaneously ignoring the 3+ loads of laundry I promised myself I would do today NO MATTER WHAT. I must tackle the laundry!!! I'm out of clean unmentionables and Hunter is out of ALL unmentionables and mentionables alike. Well, not really. He does still have some summery things that are clean. Speaking of, I wondered what kind of mother I looked like when I walked into speech therapy, on this brisk fall morning, holding a one-year-old dressed in shorts and a t-shirt while another mom was holding her toddler bundled up in at least four layers of clothing. Hmmmm. I probably won't win Mother of the Year. I'll try again next year. But let's be honest, that probably won't happen unless I trade personalities with the likes of June Cleaver. Remember June, Ward, Wally, Eddie, and Beaver? What a great show. If it was on right now, I'd probably be watching the hi-jinks ensue on Leave it to Beaver instead of doing laundry. . . or writing on my bloggery.

While I'm on here, ignoring the pile of clothes that won't just clean themselves, I might as well share a few other tidbits that are happening right now.

Tidbit one:

I LOVE (love love love love) the way Hunter says grapes. He calls them "Gumps." Seriously, I can't get enough of him reaching up towards the grapes on the counter while repeating, "Gumps. Gumps. Gumps." Just when I think he can't get any cuter, he always does!

Tidbit two:

Tralee is obsessed with two articles of clothing right now. The first are her princess shoes. You know, those cheap, plastic, glittery things. That's usually the first thing she asks for in the morning. "Mommy, do you know where my princess shoes are? You know, the ones that go like this?" Then she starts to prance around the room.

The second article of clothing Tralee loves are her jammies. More specifically, her pink polka dot ones. For three days in a row, I've changed her into regular clothes in the morning. The whole time listening to Tralee say, "But, I want to stay in my jammies!" Once I convince her that she can wear them later, we leave the house, take care of whatever errands or playdates need to be done, and by the time we make it back home, Tralee runs into her room, finds her jammies, and requests they be put back on. The first day I didn't care, because, whatever, we were home. The second day I only cared a little bit because we had to go to Enrichment that night, and I thought it might look weird going into the ward building with her decked out in polka dot jammies. Today is the third day, and the polka dots are looking a little shabby, which is a constant reminder of all the other dirty clothes that need to be washed.

Yet, here I sit, typing away. Hoping that, as I sit here, I'll see the clothes dance to the tune of "A Spoonful of Sugar" down the stairs, splash into the wash machine, where they will magically get washed and folded on their own. It's so not happening, which is a bit disappointing, but not so much that I'm going to freak out. Just disappointing enough that I feel entitled to eat a Dove dark chocolate, wait for the sugar rush to hit, then push up my sleeves, and get to work. My laundry won't be done as magically as Mary Poppins, and probably not folded as perfectly as June Cleaver's, but it will get done. And tomorrow, my little Hunty-D will be wrapped carefully in four layers of clothes, because --dang it -- I am a good mom. I just don't like to do laundry.

Conversation

Just thought I'd share a little chat Hunter and I shared last night. Excuse the robe, I was getting ready for bed.

Bedtime Woes

I knew Tralee was getting tired last night when the whining increased at an alarming rate. I finally had enough, and announced that it was bedtime. As you can imagine this announcement was met with more whining and some tears were added for extra unhappy emphases. I got down to Tralee's level and said something like, "We're not going color right now. Do you see how grumpy you are? When you get this grumpy is means you're tired. When you're tired, it means you've got to get some sleep. That means it's bedtime." Tralee looked at me and said through her tear stained face,

"Oh! You've GOT to be kidding me!"

I had to turn away because I started laughing and I wondered, "Where did she hear that one?" I finally got Tralee in bed and she was out 2.4 seconds after her head hit the pillow. I knew she was in deep slumberland when the soft snoring stared. I love her snores. Little kid snores are so cute, and also so nice because you know you have several hours before the snores turn into little voices demanding their breakfast requests. After Tralee was out, I put Hunter to bed and had a precious few hours to myself before I finally needed some shut-eye.

I miss having Jim around to help with the bedtime routine. At the same time, I'm getting used to him being gone. The kids and I have developed our own routine, but having Jim here would be much nicer. I'm counting down the days before I can see him again. There are still too many.

Because this is what you do when it's your birthday. . .

Here are some photos of me when I was little. You know, cause it's my birthday. So I thought I'd share:

My kids really DO look like me.

My brothers and myself below. I LOVED that darn lamb. It sadly met his demise when our German Shepard mistook it for a chew toy.

The last photo is my first trip to Disney World. I'm throwing it in the mix because my 12th Disney trip is coming up in a few weeks. I CAN'T WAIT!! This will be Jim's third trip to Disney, Tralee's second, and Hunter's first! WAHOO! I'm going to be celebrating my birthday all month. Lucky lucky lucky. Thankful thankful thankful.

Bye!

Stuff I Sewed and Painted

Dear Cammi,

I made some stuff for your baby. It's been keeping me busy while Jim's away. If you don't want to see it until I get it all wrapped up and sent to you, then don't look below.

Love,

Leslie

Everyone else:

Here's some stuff I've made over the last few days for Jim's sister Cammi and her baby girl. Baby Girl will be here in a few months, so I whipped up some stuff to give her.

I made everything except the onesies. The Canada outfit is a size 6/9 months. I'm hoping the baby will be just the right size to wear it around Canada Day. Also. . . I'm thinking of making some white leggings with little red maple leaves on them, and some kind of hair accessory of course!

The next outfit is my favorite. I made everything except the onesie. . . I did sew the flower and button onto it though. I also have a hair thing in mind for this one as well.

The next outfit is kinda cute. The onesie says "Daddy's Girl." The "Daddy's Girl" was cut out with my new Silhouette cutter (the best birthday gift EVER). I made the little pants this morning, but I'm not sure they'll fit. I'm kinda new at pants. If not, oh well.

Lastly, the next thing I made is for my cousin and his soon-to-be wife. It's some canvas art I whipped up the other night. The picture looks tan, but it's more pear green. I'm not sure what their style is, so I hope they like this. If not, no worries. It's the thought that counts, right?

So, that's how I've been staying busy while Jim is away. You know, besides all my other motherly duties that take up the majority of my time.

Oh. . .and Happy Birthday to me!! One more year and I'll be 30!!!!

AHHHHHHH!!!

Tralee's Story

Jim calls us every morning and every night while he's away. Usually Jim and I have a few minutes to tell each other a few stories about our day, say a few sweet nothings, and miss each other like crazy before the kids find out Daddy is on the phone, and want a turn to talk to him.

This morning Tralee took the phone, and told Jim she wanted to tell him a story. That's their thing, they tell each other stories before bedtime, and whenever else Tralee thinks it's a good idea. So this morning, Jim was more than happy to hear one of Tralee's tales. This is how it went:

"One time there were these scary monsters. And they pooped, and pooped, and pooped everywhere. Then superman came there and he saved the day. Then he put the shoe on the princess's foot and they lived happily ever after. The end."

I laughed right out loud at her story. We've been watching Superman shows lately, so I know where that came into play. We also watched Cinderella last night together, so I know why Superman put the shoe on the princess's foot. BUT, the pooping monsters? I have NO IDEA where that came from. We have the book Everyone Poops that we read almost daily around here. . . at least five times in a row. But, there are no pooping monsters in that book, just people and animals. Maybe one day Tralee will write a book about pooping monsters. I'll be the first (and probably only person) in line to buy it.

The End.

Jim Just Moosin' Around

Here's a video Jim sent me from Alaska.

Silly!

Hunter's New Trick

Hunter's new trick is in the video below. The video was taken with my phone, and it was dark, so the image quality isn't the best, but you get the gist. Is that how you spell gist? Not sure, nothing came up on spell check so I'm gonna post it anyway. Enjoy Hunty-D being a cutie.

Toddler Wednesday with the Jacobs

For a while there Tralee had speech every Wednesday afternoon, which meant that our treks to BAM for Toddler Wednesday were no more. Now that therapy no longer falls on Wednesdays, we thought we should pop into my old work place for a little Toddler Wednesday action. The only thing that could make an art experience at a contemporary art museum even more fun, was if we invited our BFF's to join in the action. So, yesterday afternoon we got a little culture with our friends.

Jovie, Audie, Oakley, and Tralee working on some art

Hunter mostly ran around with scissors. Is that bad?

Tralee, Jovie, and Oakley holding up their finished products

Hunter in the art experience room

I love how little kids sit like this! Hunter is pushing buttons on the art experience computer.

We let the kids run around the rose garden after we got our art on.

Oakley, Tralee, Hunter, and Jovie looking at the water

After running amidst the roses for a good half hour or so, we went to the other Jacobs' house for lunch. After eating we hung out, then made our way to a dollar store for some Halloween decor. Gotta love dollar stores!

Tralee was really sad when the time came to leave. All the way home she cried, "But I want to play with Jovie and Oakley right now! I don't want to go home." She loves those girls so much. It's a good thing we have another playdate scheduled for Friday.

Can't wait!

Who Needs Manners When You're This Cute?

Tralee was telling me a story about some mad guys (that's how she says bad guys) over her breakfast cereal this morning. In case you don't specialize in Traleese with a mouthful-of-cereal dialect, I'll translate. She's basically saying, "The mad guys [are doing something wrong], and the rescue guys [can't get the job done], so this guy will save the day." We were watching Superman the night before. I think that's where this came from. I love her little goofy laugh at the end. Someday I'll teach her not to talk with a mouthful of food. . . but not today.

In other Tralee news:

Today we were cooking in the kitchen together and she said, "Mommy, I'm a cooker." I said, "Do you mean you're a chef?" She answered, "No, YOU'RE a chef. I'm a cooker." Glad we got that straightened out.

Happy Projects

This is the first house Jim and I have lived in that I'll actually be sad to leave when the time comes. We're renting, so sooner or later I'm sure we'll either be kicked out when the owner decides to sell (he's already asked us if we want to buy it), or when we're ready to move onto something else. Anyways, it's a lot more fun to decorate a place when you like living there. I've been busy working on some things to improve the place, and thought I'd share a few pics. I won't be offended if this kind of thing doesn't interest you. So, for those of you who aren't interested, go ahead and click out of the page right now. If you're still reading, here are a few of my projects:

Jim got me a futon for my birthday (my birthday hasn't happened yet, I'm one of those people who ALWAYS finds things she wants for her birthday before it even happens). The futon's frame was black, but that was too normal for me, so I painted it slate blue. Oh. . .and get this!!! We got the futon off of craigslist (don't worry, it was bedbug free, and came from a storage unit where it was still wrapped in its original packaging), but it wasn't assembled and there were NO instructions. Guess what my savvy self did? I watched a few YouTube assembly videos, found a few online instructions, and put it together all by myself! As the wise Spice Girls would say, "GIRL POWER!"

My other big deal thing I did was make a little book corner. I went to a hardware store, bought the hardware, came home, sewed the book holders out of old sheets I bought at a thrift store for a dollar each (again, bedbug free. Never fear, I watched Dr. Oz's bedbug show and knew what to look for!), and then put it all together (including drilling holes in the wall and setting anchors in). I also made the "read" sign, and I'm really digging the finished product. What gives me the greatest pleasure is when I walk by and see Tralee or Hunter sitting on the princess couch or futon reading a book they got from my homemade fabric book shelf.
Another project I'm digging are the princess skirts I made for Tralee and my niece Haylee. We're going to Disney World in a few weeks, and thought they needed to look the part.

Tralee's is inspired after Snow White

Haylee's is inspired off of the pink dress Giselle wears in the beginning of Enchanted.

I really like the lining (made from a vintage bed sheet. The sheer layer on top is made from a curtain). I really had fun making these.

I made this little craft the other day and it's hanging in the toy room. I wish I could say I was clever enough to come up with this idea myself, but I read about it on another craft blog.

I tackled shorts for the first time in my sewing career. I made the one's below for Hunter's first trip to Disney. I like the Mickey butt.

My nephew Brady also got a pair of Mickey shorts, but his Mickey isn't on the bum, and it's a storm trooper Mickey. Brady likes Star Wars, so hopefully he'll like them too.

The next few photos are from Tralee's room. She has a winged things/outdoors theme going on.

When I went to my parents' in June/July I found an old piece of wallpaper in my memory boxes. It's the wallpaper that hung in my room when I was a little girl. I thought I should frame it and put it in Stink's room.

Below is another craft I copied from a craft blog.

I got this wicker shelf thing for free, and spray painted it green. My favorite thing in the picture below is the yellow owl. I found it at a thrift store for 75 cents. The "I Miss Your Kiss" doll was also in my room when I was a little girl. My mom gave it to me, if memory serves correct, I believe my mom got it from an old boyfried. Correct me if I'm wrong mom.

I found this embroidered owl picture at a yard sale for a dollar. I painted the frame green. I really like it.

Jim made me the mirror, I painted it, and made some "welcome" blocks for it.

Tralee and I made some ghosties the other day. She drew the faces on. It was a fun project.

So the next picture is nothing I made, but when I was cooking dinner tonight I opened the cupboard and my pretty, colorful, thrifted, Pyrex bowls made me smile. I think this is my favorite cabinet in the kitchen. Plus, my cookbooks are all right there. They used to be organized, but as I reach in there and grab this one or that one, then cram them back in there in the midst of cooking, they end up looking how they do.
And to end my homemade post, here's a picture of the homemade whole wheat pizza Tralee and I made together tonight. It was our first attempt at pizza dough, and it was quite delish.

So there you go.

Hunty Videos

Hello.

Here are a few short video clips of my little Hunty Dizzle.

A while back I commented about how Hunter likes to rip toilet paper up, throw it in the air, and yell "surprise." Here's a video of him doing it:

The next video is of Hunter saying, "I won't." It's just about the cutest thing ever. Whenever I tell him not do to something, this is his response. Love it.

There ye are.

Little Voices

Here's a few things the little voices in my house have been saying.

Tralee:

The other day Tralee was playing a PBS game on the computer, and I had to get on to check something. She did not like me interrupting her game and in the midst of her pouting she said, "Mommy, you are making me VERY GRUMPY!!" I laughed.

Hunter:

Whenever Hunter wants to go outside he runs to the back door and says, "Side. . . side. . . side" until I open the door and her runs out to play.

Hunter calls blankets buddies. He'll often climb up on the bed, or the couch, point to a blanket and say, "Buddy. . .buddy. . . buddy" until we cover him up.

Hunter constantly brings books up to me during the say, and while pushing them into my hands he exclaims, "Wan one. Wan one." That's how he says, "want one." He also does this with food he discovers in the pantry. I almost always give into his reading requests. As soon as I open the front page of whichever book he most recently discovered, his little bottom backs up until it's the appropriate distance to plop into my lap. I love it. I also like to steal sniffs from the top of his head as I read. He's starting to loose that baby smell, and he's starting to smell more and more like a little boy. I gotta suck in whatever's left of my baby before it's gone forever.

In other news:

Blog posting has been slight lately. We've been kind of busy around here. Lots of play dates, meetings, crafts, appointments, dinners (one with a high school friend I hadn't seen in 10 years, that was FUN!), and various other activities that take me away from the computer. It's nice to be busy, but sometimes it's just as nice to have a day with nothing planned. We haven't had one of those in a while. Today is the first. It's nice to start with a blank canvas instead of having to follow the instructions on a paint by number. Kay. . .enough talk, I'm gonna go start slathering my blank canvas with a myriad of spontaneous activities.

Later gaters.